Wonder Woman: DVD Review

Wonder Woman begins on the mystical island of Themyscira, where a proud and fierce warrior race of Amazons resides. They have raised Princess Diana, a daughter of stunning beauty, extraordinary strength and incredible fighting prowess. Diana possesses a host of super human powers granted to her by the gods and goddesses of Olympus and her strength and stamina are unparalleled. When Air Force fighter pilot Steve Trevor crash lands on the island, the rebellious and headstrong Diana defies Amazonian law by accompanying Trevor back to civilization. Meanwhile, Ares (the God of War) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazons and has decided to exact his revenge by starting a world war that will destroy them all. It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world by using her gifts to become the ultimate Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman marks the third DC Universe PG-13-rated animated film (both released and reviewed by me) and is a fun little action movie. The rating is probably well-deserved. There’s not a ton of blood, but there is a fairly high amount of violence.

I really enjoyed Wonder Woman. It’s an incredibly fun, action-packed movie that includes an extremely well-rounded voice cast. It’s important of course to focus on the lead, and Keri Russell certainly does a solid job as the voice of Diana/Wonder Woman, but the far and away best performance comes from Nathan Fillion. Fillion is absolutely perfect in the role of Steve Trevor (the U.S. pilot who crashes on the island and ends up helping Wonder Woman). But most importantly, the action is nicely mixed with a good dose of comedy all in a package that runs just under 1 hour and 15 minutes with the credits, and even manages to give the origin story of the character.

EXTRAS

Commentary by the Film’s Creative TeamThis commentary, always a favorite of mine, includes producers Gregory Novak and Bruce Timm as well as the writer Michael Jelenic and director Lauren Montgomery. The commentary is fairly informative, but I actually found it to be less entertaining than I would have liked, perhaps because I seen the two terrific documentaries (discussed below) before I listened to the commentary.

Exclusive First Look at DC Universe’s Upcoming Green Lantern Animated Movie and MoreIf you’ve seen the features for DC Universe’s Justice League: The New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight (and they’re actually included in this set in the case you didn’t–that’s what the more in the title above refers to), you know exactly what this feature is. The featurette runs about 10 minutes and basically explains in some informative detail what the upcoming Green Lantern: First Flight animated film will be about. It features both voice cast and the crew behind the series, as well as authors and DC Comics personnel each chiming in with their own comments in regards to the mythology of the comic and where the movie will take it. It’s a nice peek inside the development of the film and certainly ups your anticipation for the film’s release this July 28th (see related article here).

Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream
The first of two documentaries, “A Subversive Dream” focuses mainly on the creation of Wonder Woman and the character’s creator, William Moulton Marston. I thought this was a particularly interesting documentary and I found it fascinating to learn a bit behind the mindset of Marston and why he created the character. Marston was actually helpful to the development of the polygraph, which in turn explains the motivation behind him to include the The Lasso of Truth as one of Diana’s weapons. The featurette also delves into the role of women in the 40’s and 50’s and what role Wonder Woman played in that.

Wonder Woman: Daughter of Myth Historical Amazon Lore and Its Evolution into the Modern-Day Wonder Woman Character
The title is self-explanatory, an evolution of the character, from her first debut in issue #8 of All Star Comics in 1941 to the 80’s live-action TV show starring Linda Carter to the character’s role in the future generation of women superheroes.

The documentaries really dig into the comic and its mythology in a way that’s both informative and entertaining (that’s always a plus). I highly recommend both of them, especially if you’re not all that familiar with the character. Each documentary runs a little more than 25 minutes.

Bruce Timm Presents 2 Bonus Cartoons
Two bonus cartoons, from the animated cartoon Justice League Unlimited are included in this set. They are “To Another Shore” and “Hawk and Dove”.

In closing, Wonder Woman is a solid entry into Warner’s series of animated movies and does the character good. In addition to a solid movie, you’re treated with an extensive set of extras that delve into the history of the character and its creator. Overall, I give this movie and DVD a grade of 4.0/5.